Whining Noise From 94 Ls400

[mista808]

first started thursday morning. i heard something out of the ordinary. a whining noise that kept up with the engine rpms. went through the motions and concidered it to be a water pump, pulleys, tensioner, etc... but the sound is strounger from inside the cabin, not too bad from the front of the car, you can hear it more at higher rpms, like at 3000rpm. asked my instructor to check it out real quick, he ruled out anything from the front of the engine (not water pump, tensioners, etc). i also noticed that you can hear it a bit more if you listen form under the car. my instructor said it might be the trans... checked all fluids and all seems to be okay... trans fluid doenst smell burnt or look discolored. he told me since we cant tell for sure what it could be, i have to let it take its course and wait for it to get louder, or for the next clue to come up... has anyone had this problem, or know of what it might be. i searched and most of your whining problems came back to be a water pump, tensioner, power steering pump/fluid, pulleys...

i will try to flush and replace the trans filter/fluid and see if there is any metal shavings in the pan... thanks in advance..

[RFeldes]

Have you cleaned the power steering rack screen under the driver's seat on the undercarriage?

[mista808]

no i havent, would a dirty screen cause a whining sound to go with thte engine rpm's? its more of a "turning" type sound with the engine rpm's. slows down when in drive, speeds up in neutral, slows down and slightly louder in reverse...

[RFeldes]

I would recommend complete cleaning of both screens and fluids in the PS rack and pump and a tranny flush and cleaning. Seems they both are due anyways. That should clear the problem and bring you peace of mind in the end.

[kmpdd]

first started thursday morning. i heard something out of the ordinary. a whining noise that kept up with the engine rpms. went through the motions and concidered it to be a water pump, pulleys, tensioner, etc... but the sound is strounger from inside the cabin, not too bad from the front of the car, you can hear it more at higher rpms, like at 3000rpm. asked my instructor to check it out real quick, he ruled out anything from the front of the engine (not water pump, tensioners, etc). i also noticed that you can hear it a bit more if you listen form under the car. my instructor said it might be the trans... checked all fluids and all seems to be okay... trans fluid doenst smell burnt or look discolored. he told me since we cant tell for sure what it could be, i have to let it take its course and wait for it to get louder, or for the next clue to come up... has anyone had this problem, or know of what it might be. i searched and most of your whining problems came back to be a water pump, tensioner, power steering pump/fluid, pulleys...

i will try to flush and replace the trans filter/fluid and see if there is any metal shavings in the pan... thanks in advance..

I have 90 ls 400 and a "whining" sound similar to yours turned out to be alternator noise.